


In the Shadows

by Soccer_Bitch



Series: Shadows [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-07-26 05:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7561453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soccer_Bitch/pseuds/Soccer_Bitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leaving Starling City was the best decision, Evelyn Merlyn ever made even if it means leaving everyone she loves behind. But there is something that is drawing her back to the city that she vowed she was done with. Oliver/OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hearing the loud knocks on her closed bedroom door, Evelyn jumped in surprise as her twin brother and his best friend rushed through the door without waiting for her to tell them that it was okay to enter. If graduation wasn’t so close and if she wasn’t still waiting on an acceptance letter to Harvard, she would think of seriously harming the two of them, or at least her brother. Leaving Starling City for a school on the opposite coast had things she couldn’t have at home. She would no longer be under her father’s thumb and that was something she couldn’t wait for.  
  
“Hey Ev,” Tommy smiled at his twin sister who was younger than him by mere minutes. “Think you could lend Oliver here a hand? We might have done something stupid-”  
  
“Might have?” Evelyn asked, keeping her annoyance in check. “How often do you barge in here when you don’t do something stupid?”  
  
“Oh come on big sister-”  
  
Glaring at her brother she knew that just because was older than him didn’t mean she always acted like it. Tommy had the tendency to bring out the fun in everything. At times that was a great thing, but she was trying to be serious and he was not helping her keep a level head. But when it came to Oliver and Tommy, she was rarely able to keep her head on straight.  
  
“Tommy-”  
  
“Evelyn,” Oliver Queen spoke up finally as he sat down on her large bed. “I could really use your help.”  
  
“Do either of you ever think about what your actions do to other people? I have enough to worry about without you guys adding to it. She let out a long sigh as she ran her hand through her long thick brown locks.  
  
Finally taking her eyes off her brother, she looked at his best friend and saw how bad he looked. This wasn’t the first time they came to her when they wanted to avoid going to the hospital or letting any of their parents know what they had been up to. Unfortunately for Oliver it was going to be hard to hide the black eye and the cuts on his face. She could see the blood seeping through his shirt and knew it was worse than he wanted to admit to. Bruises and black eyes they could deal with, but when blood was involved it was a fact that they would seek her out no matter where she was.   
  
“Oliver, you are going to bleed all over my bed and you both know that if I’m caught treating you in my home there is a chance I won’t even be able to get into any type of medical school.”   
  
For the last four year she had been volunteering at the clinic her mother had set up in the Glades. She wanted to have something good to put on her application in hopes that it would set her above the rest of the people applying.  
  
“You mean this?” Tommy asked showing her the letter in his hand.  
  
Seeing the familiar Harvard logo on the large envelope, her eyes went wide. Evelyn had been waiting for weeks for that letter and her brother had it? Why would Tommy keep something like that from her?   
  
“Where did you get that?” Evelyn asked as she started for him and reached for the letter. “Give it to me Tommy.”  
  
“No, no, no,” Tommy smiled his most charming smile he could muster onto his face. “You fix Ollie over there up and then you can have this letter that has been collecting dust at Merlyn Global.”  
  
“At the office?” Evelyn questioned him, ignoring that he told her to fix his friend up first. “Why would it be there?”  
  
“Nope, not saying anything until you start to fix up Oliver,” Tommy said with a half smile on his face. “Please.”  
  
With a sigh, she went into her private bathroom and got out the first aid kit that she had frequently used to patch the pair up on different occasions. Heading towards the side of the bed that Oliver was on, she placed the kit on the bedside table before taking another glance at Oliver. “You need to take off your shirt.”  
  
“Is that really necessary?” Tommy questioned from across the room.  
  
“Do you want my help or not?” Evelyn asked, snapping at her twin. “I’m helping him so neither of you get in trouble for lying about where you were supposed to be. Now tell me why my letter was at Merlyn Global.”  
  
Setting himself at his twin sister’s desk for her homework, he picked up the picture that held just one person inside of it. Their mother. Tommy and Evelyn had only been seven years old when she had been murdered. It was still unsolved. Setting the picture frame down, he turned and looked as his sister was checking Oliver’s wounds.   
  
“I went to the office to let him know you would be late and that I wouldn’t be there for dinner since I was going to the Queen’s for dinner.”  
  
“I didn’t volunteer tonight.”  
  
“It isn’t like he needed to know that, Ev,” Tommy said shaking his head as he watched as she went back to making sure his best friend would be alright. “He left the office for some meeting and I saw the Harvard logo. It had been there for awhile.”  
  
“How long is awhile?” she asked, curiously.  
  
“Long enough to gather dust on it. I’m sure that it came to the house when you were at the clinic and he took it to the office to make sure you wouldn’t see it.”  
  
“He doesn’t want me to leave Starling.” Evelyn said as she looked at her twin for a moment.   
  
Tommy didn’t have to say anything for her to know it was true. It was written all over his face. She shouldn’t have been surprised, but she had hoped that her father would have been supportive of her going to college and then starting her own career. It seemed that he still wanted to control things for her and even her brother, but she wasn’t going to allow that to happen.  
  
Looking at Oliver’s face, she gave him half a smile before speaking. “This is going to sting a bit, but you should know the drill by now.”  
  
Hearing the sharp intake of breath from Oliver, made her smile a little larger. “So what did you do this time?”  
  
“What makes you think that I did something?” Oliver asked her, trying not to wince as she pressed a cotton ball with hydrogen peroxide just above his eyebrow. She had cleaned up the blood around the wound, but it had started to bleed again when she began to clean it.  
  
“You can never walk away from a fight or an argument. Especially when you’ve had a few drinks in you,” Evelyn told him honestly. “So who was it this time?”  
  
“Devon Ward.” Tommy said speaking up from his seat across the room.  
  
Oliver didn’t need to have his eyes on Evelyn to see her tense up at the name. “What did he say?”  
  
“I didn’t hear it but it must have been bad since Ollie over there took the first swing and punched him right in the nose. Actually by doing that he probably made his nose better.”  
  
Moving around so that her back was now to her brother, she lowered her voice so Tommy wasn’t able to hear her. “What did he say Oliver?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” he said shaking his head. “It’s done and over with.”  
  
“It matters to me,” she said softly as she looked him in the eyes. “Please.”  
  
“He was gloating that he was going to take your virginity next weekend. I couldn’t let him get away with saying that about you.”  
  
“Thank you,” she said. “But next time don’t lower yourself to his level. I broke things off with him two weeks ago. So there is no worries about what he wants to happen.”  
  
“I would still do it,” Oliver said. “You don’t deserve someone like him saying that stuff.”  
  
“Because I’m a girl?” Evelyn asked. “Or because you think you need to protect me?”  
  
“Because you are important to me.”  
  
Nodding her head, she gave him a half smile that didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes. Backing away she gathered her supplies and went into the bathroom to clean what she could and to throw away what needed to be tossed. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. Turning on the water from the sink, she washed Oliver’s blood from her hands before walking out into her room.  
  
“Take some aspirin before bed. It should help with your discomfort,” she said looking at Oliver and then held her hand out to Tommy who was still holding the envelope that would determine her future. Was it going to be here in Starling while under her father’s thumb or would she be able to make her mother proud and become a doctor and save people? “I helped Oliver now give me the damn letter.”  
  
Snatching the letter out of her brother’s hand, she looked over it without opening it. She just stared at the Harvard logo. This is what she had spent years preparing for. Getting away from her father and Starling City and learning how to save the lives of people who need help was what she wanted to do. In her mind it would make her mother proud of her. What if the letter inside was nothing but a rejection letter? How would she be able to look at herself in the mirror knowing that she wasn’t good enough to get into Harvard?  
  
Taking a deep breath, she flipped the letter over and carefully opened it up. Biting down on her lip, she opened it up so she could read what it had to say. Her eyes went over the words three times before it finally sunk in.  
  
“Well?” Tommy asked, breaking the silence in the room. “What does it say?”  
  
Throwing her arms around  her brother’s neck, she let the tears fall down her face freely as she whispered the words that didn’t feel real to her. “I got in.”  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Music pounding through the speakers, Evelyn Merlyn looked at the people gathered at the Queen residence for the last minute party that Oliver and Tommy had thrown for her. She was leaving in just two days to get settled and learn her was around the Harvard campus and she was more than ready to leave Starling. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to miss everyone. The most important people in her life would be in Starling. Laurel, her best friend would be here. She wished she could take her with because it would mean she had someone to be there with her when she started to feel alone. But that just wasn’t going to happen. If she was honest the one that she would miss the most would be her twin brother. This would be the first time that they would be living apart for a long time and there was no doubt in her mind that leaving Tommy in Starling was the hardest thing she would do.  
  
Seeing her brother over by the makeshift bar, she smiled to herself as she walked over to him. Leaning close to his ear, she spoke so he could hear her. “How many have you had so far?”  
  
Looking at his sister, he finished off the cup before setting it down and pouring something else into it. Standing close to her, he had to speak up to be heard over the music that was pounding through the speakers. “Does it matter? I’ll drink whatever I want or how much I want.”  
  
Grabbing his arm so he couldn’t turn his back to her, she looked into his eyes with a mixture of hurt and confusion. “What is wrong with you? Did someone turn you down for a date?”  
  
“No. I just don’t need you trying to be Mom. You aren’t her!”  
  
Evelyn was taken aback by the words that came out of her brother’s mouth, but she wouldn’t let him know it. “I wasn't trying to be her Tommy. What's the matter with you?”  
  
“Nothing. Shouldn't you be in bed since your flight leaves so early tomorrow and your not taking the jet so don't you need to be at the airport earlier?”    
  
“I’ve done worse on less sleep. Are you going to tell me who put the stick up your ass or are you just going to act like this for the rest of the night?”  
  
“Why are you acting the way you are? Don't make this about me, Evie.”  
  
“How can I not? Look at you, sulking at a party that was not my idea. It was all you and Oliver!”  
  
“I am not sulking. Good night, Evie. Have a safe flight tomorrow.”  
  
“Tommy, please don't walk away from me!”  
  
Chuckling to himself, Tommy ignored her and walked away. Evelyn took a deep breath and tried to keep her watering eyes in check, but it was of no use. The words that her brother spoke to her had been painful to hear and she didn’t know why he even said them. It just didn’t make sense.   
  
Letting the tears fall down her cheeks, she wiped them away as quickly as she could. The last thing she wanted was for someone to see her crying at a party that was supposed to be a celebration of her leaving Starling.  
  
“Evelyn?” hearing the familiar voice from behind her, she didn’t move. Looking at the path that Tommy had left by. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she finally looked at the person that had called her name. It was Oliver, the one person that would have to watch out for her brother while she was gone. “Are you having…are you crying?”  
  
“I’m fine,” she said, putting a fake smile on her face. “Thank you for the last minute send off. Not sure how you pulled it off, but it was very nice Oliver.”  
  
“Why are you really crying?”  
  
Letting out a loud sigh, she took the drink out of his hand and took a large swig of it before doing it again. “Tommy and I just had a fight and I’m really sure what it was really about.”  
  
“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Oliver said swinging his arm over her shoulders. “It is probably just a little fight, just like how me and Laurel fight, except you two are related.”  
  
Trying to keep the laugh in, she just shook her head at him as he took his cup back. “You know Oliver, I’m really going to miss you. Probably more than I actually realize.”  
  
“It won’t be the same without you around here,” Oliver told her. “And I just don’t mean that since you won’t be here to patch me and Tommy up if we get into trouble.”  
  
“I think you mean when.”  
  
Laughing, Oliver put the cup on the table before placing his hands on the sides of her face and really looked into her eyes. “Make sure you come home once in awhile.”  
  
“No promises,” she said with a small smile upon her face. “But you can always come visit me.”  
  
Leaning down, Oliver captured her lips with his own before pulling her even closer to him. In all the years that he had been friends with the Merlyn family, not once had he ever made a move on Evelyn. It had mainly been because of his friendship with Tommy, but Oliver couldn’t think about that at the moment. All he could think about was Evelyn opening her mouth so he could deepen their kiss. When they finally broke apart, she looked at him confused. “Laurel-”  
  
“We aren’t together.”  
  
Looking into his eyes, she felt him lace their fingers before he started walking towards the staircase that would lead up to the bedrooms.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

_“You remember that night Tommy and I threw that party for you? Before you left for Harvard?” Oliver Queen’s voice sounded from the speaker phone from Evelyn’s cell phone as she tried to study for an upcoming exam._  
  
 _“Yes I remember,” Evelyn smiled as she placed her highlighter down and picked up her cup of coffee that was half gone. She took a large sip before placing it back down on the table. “Hard to forget the day my twin brother stopped really talking to me.”_  
  
 _“But you remember what we did right?”_  
  
 _“When you took my virginity?” Evelyn asked, laughing slightly. “Yes Oliver I remember. Why?”_  
  
 _“I lied to you. Laurel and I were back together and I just don’t want it to get back to her that we slept together.”_  
  
 _“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you because I could have sworn you just said that you lied to me.”_  
  
 _“I did. Just don’t tell her okay?”_  
  
 _“Do you ever think of anyone besides yourself? I mean really Oliver, this is really low, even for you.”_  
  
 _“Oh come on it wasn’t that big of a deal.”_  
  
 _“Do you even care who you hurt or does it not matter as long as you get what you want?” she asked running her hand through her thick brown locks. “You and Tommy are the worst at putting others before yourselves.”_  
  
 _“Because you are so innocent. Have you even thought about why Tommy was so pissed off at you the night you left?”_  
  
 _When she didn’t say anything Oliver continued on. “You left. He did everything to get your father off your back. So now Malcolm has been all over Tommy to take over Merlyn Global while you get the opportunity to live out your dream. Did it ever occur to you that he was protecting you?”_  
  
 _“You couldn’t have been that blind Evelyn! I mean come on it was right there in front of your face!” Oliver said raising his voice. “Your father had plans to marry you off to the face of Wayne Enterprises so that he could merge the two companies. But Tommy wouldn’t hear of it so he did everything to keep the attention off you.”_  
  
 _“That was when all the fights started,” Evelyn said, the pieces finally falling into place. “When Tommy found out about what my dad had planned, that was when the two of you started getting into more fights and acting different.”_  
  
 _“He didn’t want you to know,” Oliver said his voice going lower than before. “Tommy never had any intention of telling you any of that.”_  
  
 _“What a great friend you are Oliver,” Evelyn replied snidely. “I hope you know how good you are at hurting those who you supposedly care for. I hate you Oliver Queen and I just hope you know that one day your actions will catch up with you.”_  
  
 _Not giving him a chance to say anything more, Evelyn hung up her phone before throwing it across the room. Pulling her legs up to her chest, it was the first time since she had moved away from Starling that she was glad she wasn’t there anymore. There was no chance that she would be able to stop the tears from falling from her eyes and she didn’t even try to. Oliver Queen had been her friend for so long and now she couldn’t stand to even think about him. He had used her and she believed him when he told her that he wasn’t with Laurel. Oliver Queen took her virginity like it was no big deal. Maybe to him it wasn’t, but to her it meant a lot more. Putting her head on her knees she wrapped her arms around her legs and just cried. Evelyn cried until she couldn’t cry anymore._   
  
It had been three years since she had gotten on a plane and left everyone she knew back in Starling City. Graduating early from Harvard took a lot of extra classes and lack of sleep as well as not having much of a social life. She sent Tommy an email telling him about it and even inviting him to the ceremony, but she never heard back from him. Not that she really expected to. There hadn’t been a single conversation or text message from Tommy. She was on her own and she knew it. When things seemed to be overwhelming she had thought about calling it quits and just going home, but she had to make her mother proud of her. Her mother was what kept her going on the track she was on. Hopefully in about five more years she would be working at a hospital as an ER doctor. Evelyn had always known exactly what department she wanted to go with in the medical field which was one advantage she had over some of the other students.   
  
After leaving Harvard, she was accepted at Johns Hopkins University where she was currently in class. She was sitting in Foundations of Human Anatomy which was a seven week class. Not exactly the most exciting thing she would have to learn, but she was determined to pass everything with flying colors and maybe if it were possible she would be able to graduate earlier than what was planned out.  
  
 _Buzz._  
  
 _Buzz._  
  
 _Buzz._  
  
Glancing around, she made sure no one was paying attention to her as she grabbed her phone that was vibrating in her beat up messenger bag. Anyone that really talked to her knew that she was in class. She just hoped that nothing was wrong with anyone from back home or one of the few people she still kept in contact with after leaving Harvard.  
  
 _Tommy_  
  
Staring at the name that was on her screen and the picture, made her heart drop. Taking a deep breath she forced herself to decline the call. More than anything she wanted to take the call and just talk to her twin brother, but she was in class. There was no way she could leave and do that. But she wanted to. Oh did she want to.  
  
 _Buzz._  
  
Voicemail.  
  
Her brother left her a voicemail. It was a huge improvement from the three years of radio silence from him. It was hard for her to concentrate on the rest of the class knowing that there was a voicemail from her brother. The one person she had been wanting to talk to since she left Starling City. Time seemed to pass by slowly, but eventually she was able to leave the class. Done for the day, she grabbed her phone and stuck it into her jacket pocket before grabbing her stuff and put it into her bag before leaving.  
  
Waiting until she got back to her apartment before listening to the message from Tommy, she knew it would be better that way. She didn’t want to be in public if it was bad news and if it was good news, well maybe she would be able to call him and actually have a conversation with him. Not a fight like they had the night before she left home. There were things she needed to tell him, things he needed to know.  
  
 _“Evie, I know that it has been awhile since we’ve talked. But I thought you should know that Oliver took a trip with his dad on the Queen’s Gambit. No one knew that Sara was on board, but it has just been confirmed that the ship went down. I’m sorry Evelyn, but there were no survivors.”_   
  
Evelyn took a deep breath as the tears cascaded down her face. This couldn’t be real. Oliver was dead? And Sara as well? How could this be happening? Why?  
  
 _“Laurel is taking it pretty hard. She knows about you and Oliver and I think it would be best if you don’t try and call her right now. I know that you are hurting now too and I’m sorry for that. If I hear anything I’ll let you know. Bye Evie.”_  
  
Sliding down the door of her apartment, Evelyn  fell apart. Her cell phone lay at her feet where she dropped it. Oliver Queen was dead and so was Sara Lance. It wasn’t fair. They didn’t deserve that. Sure Oliver wasn’t the greatest person in the world, but this wasn’t something she would have wished on him. The last thing she told him was that she hated him. She wished that she could take back those words of anger, only it wasn’t possible to do so. Tears washed down her face with no chance of stopping.  
  
Leaning over, she picked up the dropped phone and called her brother back. It was still ringing when she started to cry again. She didn’t believe that Tommy would actually pick up his phone when he saw that it was her calling. He hadn’t in the past few years so why would that change just because their friend was dead?  
  
 _“Evie…”_  
  
She couldn’t say anything so she just continued to cry while her brother was on the other line. The first time in years that he answered her call and she couldn’t even form words to talk to him. From her head to her toes, she was hurting and all she wanted to do was be with her brother. When she was younger and she was hurting Tommy would just hold her and watch whatever movie that she wanted to watch. It was something that she wanted right at that moment. He was hurting too, she knew it. His tone of voice that he used in the voicemail told her how much he was hurting.  
  
 _“I’m sorry Evie.”_  
  
No other words were needed. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to say anything at all, she ended the call and put the phone down before putting her head on her knees that were drawn up to her chest. The pain she was feeling wasn’t unfamiliar. She had felt it when she was young and was told that her Mother was dead and then when her father disappeared for two years. Now her two of her friends were gone and so was the man that acted more like a father towards her and her twin then their own father. It just wasn’t fair, none of it was. She couldn’t even imagine how the Lance family was dealing with everything.  
  
 **Six Months Later**  
  
Leaving campus after finishing her course about infectious disease was the highlight of her day. She stopped by the smoothie place to treat herself for making it through the course without an issue. It wasn’t until later when she was walking up the stairs to her apartment that she noticed someone was sitting next to her door. It didn’t take her long to figure out who it was. Laurel. She hadn’t heard from her since she had told her what Oliver had wanted her to keep a secret. It had put a huge strain on their friendship and it made it things difficult. Eventually they just stopped talking. Evelyn knew that it was her fault, she should have known better than to sleep with Oliver Queen. But seeing Laurel sitting there waiting for her surprised her.  
  
Slowly making her way to her front door, Evelyn noticed that Laurel was asleep. Shaking her head, she pulled out her phone to make sure that she hadn’t missed any calls or texts that might have given her a heads up that she would have been coming. Glancing at the screen there was nothing to give her a warning that Laurel would be at her doorstep when she got home. Shaking her head, she walked up to the woman that had been her best friend for a long time. Until she messed it up.   
  
Leaning down, Evelyn gently shook Laurel to wake her up. Standing back up, she waited for Laurel to get herself situated and figure out where she was. “Evelyn.”  
  
“Hi Laurel,” she smiled at her that was genuine as she put a key into the lock on her front door. “Would you like to come in?”  
  
Standing up Laurel nodded her head and followed her childhood friend into the apartment. Looking around Laurel noted that the apartment was clean, very clean. It almost felt as if Evelyn didn’t spend all that much time there. But she was in school and probably didn’t get to just have lazy days.  
  
“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced.”  
  
“I’m sorry I didn’t come home sooner,” Evelyn told her. “I would have come right after class if I knew you were coming.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Laurel said running a hand through her hair. “I should have called, but I wasn’t sure if you would answer.”  
  
“I didn’t think you knew where I was anymore,” Evelyn said. “How did you find me?”  
  
“Well my dad is a cop, so…”  
  
“Right,” Evelyn said nodding her head as she placed her bag on a small table near the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”  
  
“A glass of water would be nice,” Laurel replied back. “Thank you.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
The air between them was awkward. No other word would describe it. Being in the same room as Laurel again was surprising and nothing like she imagined at all. She knew there would be yelling soon and there should be. She deserved nothing less. After all she did sleep with Oliver while he was dating someone. Not just anyone, but Laurel. It wasn’t like she planned to but she knew how Oliver was and she should have known better. But he found her at a low point, just moments after her fight with Tommy. The last time she had a real conversation with her brother and they fought.  
  
“How is school going?” Laurel asked, after Evelyn handed her a glass of ice water.  
  
“Harvard was nice,” Evelyn smiled. “This place is hard. Harder than I thought it would be. But I love it. This is what I’m meant to do, I just know it.”  
  
“You are going to be a great doctor,” Laurel said with a smile. “I came here for a reason. Not just for chit chat.”  
  
“Because I slept with Oliver before I left Starling.”  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me you slept with him? We’ve been such good friends for so long and I’m trying to understand what happened.”  
  
“Tommy happened.” Evelyn told her honestly.  
  
“What do you mean?” Laurel asked, confused, as she took a seat at the island making sure she was right across from Evelyn.  
  
“Do you remember that party Oliver and Tommy threw for me the day before I left for Harvard?”  
  
“Yeah,” Laurel said. “When you and Oliver-”  
  
“It was before that,” Evelyn interrupted her knowing where she was going with that statement. “Tommy was acting weird. I asked him about it and he just said some things and I didn’t understand why. The next thing I knew Oliver was there comforting me.”  
  
“And then you slept with him.”  
  
“He directly lied to me Laurel! Me! He lied to me. I hate when people lie to me because I was always hearing lie after lie from my father. And Oliver Queen did that. I should have known better, but I wasn’t thinking and for the longest time, I really liked him.”  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”  
  
Laurel was calm. It was starting to worry Evelyn at how calm she really was. “Honestly, I didn’t want to disappoint you. I knew how much you loved Oliver. If I had to be the one that hurt you then I was no better than Oliver was when-”  
  
“I get it. But eventually you told me. I would have preferred that you told me face to face like a friend would have done.”  
  
“I was in school in another state, Laurel, I couldn’t drop everything and come home.”  
  
“Will you?” she wondered. “Come home I mean?”  
  
“I don’t know. What do I have there for me? Tommy doesn’t talk to me, I left on bad terms with both him and my father. Oliver is dead and even if he wasn’t the last thing I said to him was that I hated him and I never did. And then I messed up the best friendship I could have had with you because I was emotional and didn’t think about it and slept with your boyfriend.”  
  
“What if we could erase it? Forget that it happened?” Laurel asked, making Evelyn shoot her head up and look at her friend with hope in her eyes. “I need you back in my life. I lost my sister and my boyfriend in one freak accident. Please don’t make me lose you as well.”  
  
Walking around the island, Evelyn threw her arms around Laurel and let the tears fall down as she clung to her friend. “I’ve missed you so much.”  
  
“I missed you too Evie.”  
  
After a minute or two, Evelyn pulled back and looked at Laurel and smiled. “You know you were never far away. I kept pictures of you and Tommy and one of Oliver around. I might not spend too much time here, but I like to know you guys are around.”  
  
“Well maybe now I can come visit more often. Maybe I can get Tommy to come with me too.”  
  
Shaking her head, Evelyn gave her a small smile. “You might be sleeping with Tommy, but I wouldn’t be pushing him to see me.”  
  
“What?”  
  
Evelyn laughed at Laurel’s shocked face. “Thea emailed me and told me that she saw the two of you kissing somewhere.”  
  
“Oh god.”  
  
“If Tommy makes you happy, then go for it Laurel. You deserve to be happy. Oliver is gone and isn’t going to come back. And Tommy he needs something to keep him happy that doesn’t involve pissing of Malcolm Merlyn.”  
  
“I wasn’t expecting you to know about that.”  
  
“I just want you to be happy.”  
  
“And I want you to come home. Not now. Not even next year, but maybe after you graduate?”  
  
“So in about four years or so?”  
  
“I think you should come home. Tommy misses you. He keeps a picture of you in his wallet. When he’s sad and thinking he pulls it out and just looks at it.”  
  
“I miss him a lot,” Evelyn admitted. “I’ll think about applying to Starling General when I graduate. We can talk about it when it gets closer. I have a long way to go until then.”  
  
“You’ll do great Doctor Merlyn.”  
  
 **Eight Years After Leaving Starling City**  
  
She had been back for  three days. Finishing everything she needed and passing with flying colors had been worth it all. The first place to offer a job was Starling General. After keeping in contact with Laurel after her surprise visit made it an easy choice. Evelyn made Laurel promise not to tell Tommy that she was back. Her original plan was to stay in a hotel until she could find a place of her own, but Laurel shot that down and told her that she had an extra bedroom that she could use for however long she needed it.  
  
Evelyn had the TV on and was trying to relax while watching a movie on TV when the news cut in with breaking news. Something she never thought she would ever hear.  
  
 _“Oliver Queen is alive.”_  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing you recognize belongs to me, everything else is from my imagination.

_Evelyn,_  
  
 _I can’t express how happy I am that you have returned home. Hopefully this means you are ready to come and work at Merlyn Global. Once you have settled in I am hopeful that you will be open to what I have to say about your future and how you will help Merlyn Global become even more than it is now. You just have to open your mind to what it can be. I’ll be in touch soon._  
  
 _Malcolm_   
  
Crumpling the piece of paper in a ball. It was tempting to scream out in frustration. But she contained herself. It had been eight years since she had spoken or even seen her father and then he sends her a cryptic letter? Just because she was back in Starling City did not mean that she was going to work at his company.   
  
Her brother didn’t even know she was back in town. She was lucky that Laurel had kept her promise and didn’t tell him. Evelyn knew now how her decision to leave didn’t just affect her, but Tommy as well. That never crossed her mind at the time. She did wish that Tommy had said something about it, but he didn’t. Keeping everything bottled up inside until it was ready to explode was something both of them had. Evelyn didn’t know when she would be ready to see Tommy or even Oliver for that matter, what she needed to really start to do was search for her own place. Laurel was very generous, but she knew couldn’t live here forever. She would need her own space and she just had to find the right one and then get new furniture since she sold hers before moving back.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Walking into the Queen household without knocking was something Tommy Merlyn did since he was a young and so the thought of even knocking here was something he didn’t even think about. Seeing Oliver in the flesh was something that he couldn’t wait for, but at the same time he was keeping a large secret from his best friend. But how could he call himself the best friend if he laid on extra drama when his friend was back from  the dead?  
  
“What did I tell you?” Tommy asked speaking up as he walked up to Oliver. “Yachts suck.”  
  
Turning to face his long time friend, Oliver gave him a smile before the two friends hugged. “Tommy Merlyn.”  
  
“I missed you buddy.” Tommy told him honestly.  
  
Before Oliver had a chance to say anything else to his friend or anyone in his family it was announced that dinner was ready. Oliver and Tommy were the last ones into the formal dinning room. Tommy couldn’t imagine what Oliver had gone through in the past five years but if he had to guess it was like hell. It was that reasoning that he wanted to catch Oliver up on the going on of the world and then maybe break the news of him and Laurel to him. Maybe. As soon as everyone was seated and comfortable he began.  
  
“Ok. What else did you miss? Super bowl winners... Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. A black president, that's new. Oh, and "Lost," they were all dead...I think.”  
  
Ignoring Tommy, Thea looked at her older brother and asked what was exactly on her mind since he had come home from being dead for the last five years. “What was it like there?”  
  
The tension in the room was present and so thick you couldn’t cut it with a knife even if you tried. It was a sore topic, especially since Oliver was the only one that had survived the accident that had taken the lives of the  crew, his father and even Sara Lance.  
  
“Cold.”  
  
That was the only word Oliver could think of that described the island. The island that had become his own personal hell for the past five years. That place had changed him and he knew it was for the better.  
  
“Tomorrow, you and me,” Tommy started after everything started to get too quiet for his liking. “We’re doing the city. You’ve got a lot to catch up on.”  
  
“That sounds like a great idea.” Moira Queen, Oliver’s mother said, a smile upon her face.  
  
“Good. Then I was hoping to swing by the office,” Oliver said. “What about Evelyn? Do you think she would like to join us?”  
  
Tommy couldn’t look at Oliver. Evelyn Merlyn had also been one of Oliver’s closest friends. It was the reason he called her to tell her about the Queen’s Gambit and the death of Oliver and Robert Queen. He had been disappointed in her when Oliver confessed that he and Evelyn slept together the night of her going away party. He held on to his anger, but he knew it was unfair to blame her for everything that happened that night. He never told her how he felt about her leaving him with their father.   
  
“No,” Tommy said, finally speaking up. “I think she’s still at school.”  
  
“That’s a shame. I believe I owe her an apology for-”  
  
“We don’t need to get into that.”  
  
“Get into what?” Thea asked, even though she had a pretty good idea what was not being said aloud.  
  
“I did something that I regret to Evelyn and I was hoping to make amends.”  
  
“And what did you do that was so bad?” Thea asked.   
  
“I believe she still talks to Laurel if you want to get in touch with her.” Tommy said speaking up before the whole Queen family knew what had happened between Oliver and Evelyn.  
  
Taking a sip of his wine, Walter set it down. “Well, there's plenty of time for coming to see the company. Queen Consolidated isn't going anywhere.”  
  
Raisa, a member of the household staff walked into the dinning room to place a bowl of fruit on the table, but before she could she tripped. With reflexes that no one knew Oliver had he was able to stop her from falling flat on her face and made sure she was okay.  
  
“Oh, I am so sorry Mr. Oliver.” Raisa said, embarrassed about what had happened.  
  
Turning to look at her, he spoke in Russian and told her not to worry. The stunned looks from not just Raisa, but Tommy as well made it known that he had just shocked everyone in the room.  
  
“Dude, you speak Russian?” Tommy asked, the shock written all over his face.  
  
“I didn’t realize you took Russian at college, Oliver.” Walter stated, surprised.  
  
“I didn’t realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter.”  
  
The tension from earlier came back with that simple statement. Moira looked at Oliver and then to her daughter Thea. But before she could say anything Thea came out and said. “I didn’t say anything.”  
  
“She didn’t have to.” Oliver said while looking at his mother and she acknowledged what he told her.  
  
“Oliver…” Moira started and then took a deep breath before continuing. “Walter and I are married. And I don’t want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father.”  
  
“We both believed that Robert, like you, was, well gone.”  
  
It was hard to miss the pained expression that came across Oliver’s face at the mention of  not only his death, but that of his father’s. “It’s fine,” he said as he stood up from his seat. “May I be excused?”  
  
As soon as his mother nodded her head he knew he needed to leave. Tommy’s voice stopped him briefly.   
  
“Hey, don’t forget about tomorrow, buddy.”  
  
Hearing his friends words he left and headed upstairs for some much needed alone time. Time to think about the past five years and all the people that he had hurt with the stupid things he had done.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
“Morning.”  
  
Snapping her head up, Evelyn looked at Laurel who was in the kitchen preparing coffee. Most days Laurel was long gone before she even got out of bed. It had been a sleepless night for Evelyn, with a lot of tossing and turning. Her father’s letter was on her mind all night long and she just couldn’t shake the unpleasant thought that she might have to see him sooner than she wanted to.  
  
“I thought you would be gone already.” Evelyn said as she sat down in front of the mug of hot coffee that Laurel put in front of her.  
  
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Laurel said as she turned back around and showed Evelyn the crumpled up letter from Malcolm Merlyn. “And I also wanted to make sure that you were okay.”  
  
“It was slid under the door,” Evelyn said as she ran a hand through her dark hair. “I guess even though I haven’t heard a peep out of him for eight years he still has me in his sights.”  
  
“You can go to the police and get a restraining order.”  
  
“There would be no point. He would just get someone else to do his dirty work for him.”  
  
“I’m sorry.” Laurel told her.  
  
“I just thought that maybe, just maybe there was a chance that he would leave me alone. After all he hasn’t spoken to me since I left Starling all those years ago.”  
  
“Maybe you can tell Tommy you are back and he could help you with it all?” Laurel suggested, knowing that Evelyn had been avoiding contacting her brother.  
  
“I don’t know if he wants to see me,” Evelyn said in a quiet voice as she looked into her coffee mug. “Plus I’m sure he’s being kept busy with Oliver’s return.”  
  
“You are family,” Laurel said looking at her. “Think about it, okay?”  
  
“I’ll think about it. I promise,” Evelyn told her honestly. “Aren’t you going to be late for work?”  
  
“I called in and told them I was going to be late, but I do need to get going. Do you want me to pick something up on the way home?” Laurel asked grabbing her purse and some files that were placed on the kitchen table.  
  
“Whatever you feel like having.”  
  
“Bye!” Laurel called as she walked out the door, leaving Evelyn to her thoughts.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Once Tommy and Oliver were in Tommy’s car, he started driving away from the Queen mansion. At first the car was just filled with silence, but after a few minutes Tommy broke it.  
  
“Your funeral blew.”  
  
“Did you get lucky?” Oliver asked.  
  
“Fish in a barrel,” Tommy said remembering the day. “They were so sad…”  
  
“No.”  
  
“And huggy,” Tommy said. “And I am counting on another target rich environment for your welcome home bash.”  
  
“At my what?” Oliver asked, thinking he had misheard what his friend had said.   
  
“You came back from the dead. This calls for a party. You tell me where and when. I’ll take care of everything. And this city’s gone to crap. Your dad sold his factory just in time,” Tommy said as he slowed down in front of the old Queen factory. “And why’d you want to drive through this neighborhood anyway?”  
  
“No reason.”   
  
“So what’d you miss the most? Steaks at the palm, drinks at the station, meaningless sex?”   
  
“Laurel and Evelyn.” Oliver said honestly.   
  
“Everyone is happy you’re alive. And you want to see the one person in this city who isn’t? Not to mention my sister who probably isn’t happy to hear your name isn’t even in this city?” 

*~*~*~*~*~*

  
Evelyn had decided she was going to cook for her and Laurel so she texted Laurel asking what she wanted. That was when she realized she left her phone on the kitchen counter. So after taking a shower and getting dressed she decided to bring her the phone. Sitting in her rented car, she watched from across the street as Laurel was talking with Tommy and Oliver. It wasn’t her friend that her eyes locked on to, it was Tommy and Oliver.   
  
It was the first time she had seen either of them in eight years. She had always believed that they would visit her at college, but after the fight with her brother the only time she heard from him was when he called and told her about the yacht going down. But seeing the two of them together, it felt like she was back in high school and they were trying to get out of some trouble they had caused with Laurel. As she looked over at her roommate, she saw how upset she was as Oliver and Tommy walked away.  
  
Waiting until both of them were out of sight, Evelyn got out of the car and headed inside the office of CNRI. Seeing how busy it was, she knew that it would be a good idea just to get in and talk to Laurel real quick before letting her get back to work. Seeing her friend sitting at her desk with a lost look on her face. Knowing that seeing Oliver took a toll on her, she walked up to Laurel’s desk with a smile on her face.  
  
“So this is me leaving the apartment and giving you something that you forgot.” Evelyn said with a smile on her face hoping that it would make her friend smile as well.  
  
When Laurel got out of her seat and pulled Evelyn into a hug, she didn’t say anything, just hugged her back. She knew it had been hard for Laurel to go through losing her sister at the same time as losing her boyfriend who just happened to sleep with not only her sister but also her best friend. But lucky for her, she had forgiven her when she wrote the email telling her exactly what happened between Oliver and herself. There was so much regret in what she had done and knew there had been a chance that her friend wouldn’t forgive her.  
  
“Are you okay?” Evelyn asked once Laurel sat back down in her chair. “I saw you talking with them.”  
  
Laurel looked at her, a little surprised. “I didn’t think he would come here, especially since Tommy has been his guide.”  
  
“I guess he’s the same Oliver then,” Evelyn said, showing no emotion about the man. “Doesn’t listen to what others have to say or how it hurts the people around him.”  
  
Laurel let out a small laugh as she wiped a tear from her eye. “What brings you out of the apartment and here?”  
  
“You left your phone this morning and I decided to cook for us tonight and wanted to know what you would like.”  
  
Evelyn smiled at her as she placed Laurel’s cell phone on her desk.  
  
“Thank you. I was going to call and ask you to bring it to me and then I got surprised by Tommy and Oliver.”  
  
“Brings up old wounds,” Evelyn said knowingly. “I still hate myself for believing him when he told me that you weren’t together. My fault though. I still shouldn’t have slept with him.”  
  
“I don’t blame you. You and Tommy fought and each time you guys end up fighting someone comes off hurt. This time it was you and you weren’t thinking straight after it.”  
  
“That isn’t an excuse though.”  
  
“I forgave you years ago,” Laurel told her. “Don’t go down that path. I want to live with a happy roommate, okay?”  
  
“Okay,” Evelyn smiled. “So what do you want for dinner?”  
  
“Surprise me?” Laurel suggested. “But make sure we have some wine to go with it.”  
  
“Okay,” she said nodding her head. “I’ll see you later. Thank you Laurel, for everything.”  
  
When Laurel got home that night, it was after eleven and the apartment was dark except for a light in the kitchen. Quietly making her way to the kitchen, she saw a plate covered with plastic wrap. Evelyn had made lasagna and garlic bread. There was also a glass of wine next to the plate which Evelyn had probably bought at the store when she got everything for dinner. Now Laurel felt extremely bad that she hadn’t called or answered her phone. She had gotten so caught up with the Adam Hunt case and then when Tommy called she just lost track of time. As soon as she saw how late it was, she packed her things up and headed home. It was obvious that Evelyn went all out for dinner and she missed it.  
  
When she walked further into the kitchen she saw the light on the landline answering machine blinking. Hitting the play button, she moved to take off the plastic and heat up the dinner Evelyn made.  
  
 _“Hey Laurel, just listen and don’t freak out. After Oliver and I left your office today we got kidnapped. Some guy in a hood saved us. Things were a bit blurry for me, but don’t worry we are okay. There is something else though. I’m throwing a party for Oliver’s return and I was hoping that you would be there. There are too many years of friendship to just leave it in anger. Please come. I’ll try your cell later. Hope you aren’t working too late.”_  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
“Why are you going to the party for Oliver again? After everything that has happened?” Evelyn asked sitting on the couch nursing a large glass of wine while watching Laurel get her heels on.  
  
“Your brother made a good point in his message,” Laurel told her. “I know you heard the message as well. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? It might be fun to shock your brother and Oliver in the same night.”  
  
Evelyn let out a long sigh before taking another sip of her wine. Looking at Laurel she gave her a half smile. “I know you want me and Tommy to patch things up, but I’m not ready to let him know that I’m back yet. I will soon, but Oliver’s party isn’t the way to do it. If I’m honest I don’t think I’m ready to see either one of them yet.”  
  
“I just thought I would ask before I leave. I would have given you a few minutes to get ready.”  
  
“I think the wine and I will have a lovely time watching some movies tonight.”  
  
“I’ll call you later.”  
  
“Don’t kill anyone!” Evelyn laughed as Laurel walked out the door.  
  
After finishing off a half bottle of wine that was leftover from the other day, Evelyn headed to bed. She was tired and knew that she would have to call Starling General and accept the job they had offered and sign the papers. It was going to be a good day, a new start after a small break of nothing but school for the last eight years of her life. What she wasn’t expecting was loud knocking on the door at two in the morning.  
  
Slowly crawling out of her bed, she walked through the darkened apartment to the front door. Without even thinking about it, she unlocked the front door and opened it. She thought maybe Laurel forgot her key at Tommy’s place and was knocking to be let in. No, it wasn’t Laurel. It was one of the last people she thought would come to Laurel’s apartment.  
  
“Oliver.”  
  
“Evelyn?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

_Evelyn Merlyn was one of the few people in his life that didn’t judge him for his mistakes or the fact that he had trouble staying in a committed relationship with her best friend. For the longest time it had been Oliver, Tommy, Evelyn and Laurel. All of them best of friends, but then he developed feelings for his best friend’s twin sister. With Evelyn being Tommy’s sister, he knew he could never go there with her no matter how much he wanted to. And boy did he want to tell her how he felt._  
  
 _There were many times when he and Laurel had broken up that she tried not to get into the middle of what it was that had broken them up. And for the most part she was able to, but for as many times as they broke up there had been many more times that he had been tempted to tell Evelyn how he really felt. Oliver wanted nothing more than to kiss her senseless and take her to his bed and show her that he could be a better boyfriend than any of the losers that she had dated in the past. But that never happened. She was Tommy’s sister and he couldn’t do that to his best friend._  
  
 _Oliver knew throwing Evelyn a party the night before she was to leave Starling wasn’t the smartest thing he had ever done. Especially when he saw Tommy storm away from his sister. That was when he made his way to her. Part of him knew he shouldn’t, but there had always been something that made it impossible for him to stay away from her. Of course she had no idea how he felt about her since he never told her. When he flirted with her, she believed he was trying to lift her spirit or because he couldn’t help himself. The fact of the matter was that he was attracted to her. She knew what she wanted and nothing was going to stand in her way of getting it. He loved that determination that she showed everyday._  
  
 _Watching Evelyn at the party, Oliver was stunned. Her dress was black and purple and it fit her perfectly. Seeing her standing next to Tommy at the same height meant that she was wearing another pair of heels that she loved to wear. Moving his eyes around the room it was a lot of people from school, not all of them were people he knew, but he knew they were friends with Evelyn so he had them invited. Laurel had yet to show up, but he didn’t know if she would. They had a fight but that wouldn’t have stopped her from showing up to a party for Evelyn. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind he made his way to Evelyn who was staring at the back of her brother as he walked away from her._  
  
 _“Evelyn?” he said announcing himself to his friend over the loud music. When she didn’t acknowledge him, he placed his hand on her shoulder and came closer to her. “Are you having…are you crying?”_  
  
 _The tears that she wiped away were still present in the corners of her eyes. Whatever had gone down between her and Tommy had obviously upset her which meant that Tommy finally told her how he really felt about her leaving Starling City or rather leaving him behind with their father._  
  
 _“I’m fine,” she said, putting a smile on her face. “Thank you for the last minute send off. Not sure how you pulled it off, but it was very nice Oliver.”_  
  
 _“Why are you really crying?” he inquired, wanting to know what had caused the sadness in her eyes._  
  
 _He watched as she took the drink that he had been holding and took a large drink of it before doing it again. Taking an extra moment, she looked at him and knew even with the party going on around them she had his undivided attention. “Tommy and I just had a fight and I’m not really sure what it was really about.”_  
  
 _“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Oliver said, downplaying it in hopes it would cheer her up slightly. “It was probably just a little fight, just like how me and Laurel fight, expect you two are related.”_  
  
 _Hearing Evelyn laugh made him smile as he took his drink back from her._  
  
 _“You know Oliver, I’m really going to miss you. Probably more than I actually realize.”_  
  
 _“It won’t be the same without you around here,” Oliver told her honestly. “And I just don’t mean since you won’t be here to patch me and Tommy up if we get into trouble.”_  
  
 _“I think you mean when.”_  
  
 _Laughing, Oliver put the cup on the table before placing his hands on the sides of her face and really looked into her eyes. “Make sure you come home once in awhile.”_  
  
 _“No promises,” Evelyn said, a small genuine smile on her face. “But you can always come visit me.”_  
  
 _Leaning down, he captured her lips with his own before pulling her even closer to him. It was the first time he had actually acted on his impulses when it came to Evelyn. Never before had be made a move out of respect for Tommy and their friendship, but at that moment he couldn’t think of that. All that he could think about was how Evelyn opened her mouth so that he could deepen the kiss that he had wanted for such a long time. When they finally broke apart she looked at him confused. “Laurel-”_  
  
 _“We aren’t together.”_  
  
 _Lacing their fingers together, he started to walk to the staircase that would lead them upstairs to his bedroom. It was private and had a lock on it. Tommy was off sulking so he knew that no one would even know they were missing at the same time._  
  
 _Waking up the next morning, Oliver was surprised to see that it was just past six in the morning and Evelyn was no where in sight. Tossing the sheets off himself, out of the corner of his eye he spotted the red stain. No one needed to tell Oliver what it was from, he already knew. Evelyn. Last night had been something he had dreamt about for years and he had lied to her to get what he wanted. Part of him didn’t care, just glad that he finally had a piece of her. But he told her that he wasn’t with Laurel and it wasn’t true. If she went to Laurel he was screwed in so many ways. What was worse was the fact that he had just taken Tommy’s twin sister’s virginity. Groaning he got out of bed and made his way to the dresser and got a pair of boxers out and slid them on before putting on a pair of pajama pants. Making his way to the window, he could see Evelyn walking to her car. So she snuck out, but that didn’t mean anything. She had a plane to catch and didn’t want to wake up anyone that ended up crashing at the Queen household._  
  
 _He stole her virginity and she snuck out of his house. Oliver wanted to believe that it was just so she could catch her plane, but part of him wondered if she believed that last night was a mistake. Maybe it was? She had a fight with her brother and he went and slept with her knowing that she was emotional. It wasn’t his best move, but it was done. There was nothing he could do about it now. Walking back to the bed he laid back down and took a deep breath. He would call her sometime and sort everything out that way no one besides the two of them would know what happened._  
  
Two days had passed since he had shown up at Laurel’s without notice and received the surprise he never expected. Evelyn Merlyn standing there in her pajamas. They didn’t have a chance to talk because he walked away without saying anything, but now he was back. Looking at the door to Laurel’s apartment made him slightly nervous. He knew Laurel was at work, but he wasn’t sure if Evelyn would be here. But he wouldn’t know unless he knocked on the door. There was a reason behind his hesitation and it wasn’t something he wanted to admit to. As much as he loved Laurel when he was with her when they were younger, he always felt something more for Evelyn. The only time he acted upon his feelings was when he knew she was leaving the next day. It was the one night they spent together.  
  
Shaking his head at thoughts that he couldn’t keep in his head, Oliver raised his fist to knock on the door and stopped just short. Just before he could lower his arm all the way, he raised it back up and knocked loudly three times to make sure whoever was in the apartment would be able to hear it.  
  
Backing away from the door slightly when he heard the clicking of shoes coming towards the door. When the person on the other side stopped but didn’t open the door, he waited a minute before knocking again. After a few seconds he heard someone step back from the other side of the door. So Evelyn was inside, but didn’t want to open the door and talk to him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. If he hadn’t spent five years on that island, he wouldn’t have been able to hear her from the other side of the wooden door.  
  
“I’m not going anywhere,” he finally said through the door. “I want to talk to you and I’m not leaving until we talk.”  
  
 _“Please just go away Oliver.”_  
  
“I won’t,” he told her. “So do us both a favor of opening the door and talking to me about what we need to talk about.”  
  
Hearing the clicking of the locks turning, he looked up as the door opened enough before the chain that was on the door stopped it.  
  
“The talk you want to have has come a little late Oliver. I don’t want to talk to you or hear what you have to say.”  
  
Not allowing him to say anything, she slammed the door closed quickly and dead bolted the door once again. To admit that he was surprised would have been an understatement. In his head not once did he think that Evelyn would shut the door in his face. Yet she did. It wasn’t something she would have done eight years ago when he last saw her. But things were very different now and he couldn’t even blame her for that. It was his fault things changed between them.   
  
“Is this how you treated Tommy when you told him you were back?”  
  
All he could hear was silence and when he was about to give up, the door was unbolted again and Evelyn opened it up without the chain on it this time. Letting him inside was hard to do since she didn’t want to talk to him. She just wanted to pass the time until she started working at Starling General Hospital. Closing the door, Evelyn crossed her arms and looked at him.  
  
“You already know I’m here and you are back from the dead,” Evelyn said. “But I see no reason for us to see each other. Nothing has changed since you showed up here the other night.”  
  
“You didn’t talk to me that night,” Oliver pointed out to her. “I just wanted-”  
  
“I honestly don’t care what you want Oliver. You are nothing to me anymore. I used to have a huge crush on you and you probably knew that which is why you slept with me, but I had hoped to go through school and then come home and maybe have a shot at getting you to notice me,” Taking a deep breath, Evelyn wiped at the tears that had escaped her eyes. “But I no longer care about that. I don’t need someone like you to see me for what I am. When you asked me to lie to Laurel about the night we had sex, well that was when you lost me as anything I might have been to you.”  
  
Oliver wasn’t blind. He could see the pain in Evelyn’s eyes over something he had done and tried to get her to bail him out. He never should have slept with her in the first place, but he got tired of fighting his attraction to her. He wanted her to forgive him, but seeing her now he knew that would take some time. Maybe Tommy would be able to help him with that. That reminded him why he originally came by.  
  
“When I was released from the hospital I had a family dinner. Tommy was there.”  
  
“So?” Evelyn inquired, shaking her head. “What does that have to do with me?”  
  
“He said that you weren’t in Starling City. Why would he lie to me about that? About you?”  
  
“He doesn’t know,” Evelyn told him before taking a long sigh. “Since I moved away from Starling City Tommy contacted me about what happened so I didn’t hear about it on the news. I called him but we didn’t really  talk. That was the last time I spoke to him.”  
  
“Don’t you think he wants to know that you are back?”  
  
“No I don’t,” Evelyn told him. “I invited him to my graduation from premed and he didn’t show up. That sent a message. The only ones to keep in contact with me after I left were Laurel and her father. They are the family that I came to rely on when I needed advice or someone to talk to since my own brother, my twin didn’t want anything to do with me or what I was doing with my life.”  
  
“Evelyn-”  
  
“I don’t care what you do Oliver,” she told him as she looked into his eyes. “All I ask is that you don’t tell Tommy that I’m back. That is something I will do when I’m ready to. I don’t need you to interfere.”  
  
“You-”  
  
Oliver stopped mid sentence when the door to Laurel’s apartment opened up. When she saw that Evelyn wasn’t alone in the apartment, her eyes looked at Oliver and then to Evelyn who had unshed tears in her eyes.   
  
“Hey. I thought we could order a pizza tonight,” Laurel said looking at Evelyn before moving on to Oliver. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”  
  
Not giving him a chance to say anything else to her, Evelyn slipped out of the room and to the guest room that had become her own room in Laurel’s apartment. She hadn’t wanted to see Oliver, she wasn’t ready and she knew she wasn’t ready to see her brother. That was asking for a world of hurt that she didn’t want any part of. Closing the door behind her, she sunk down next to it and cried into her knees after wrapping her arms around them. She couldn’t go back out there until Oliver was gone, not even to hear what Laurel was saying to him.  
  
“Oliver…”  
  
“Tommy deserves to know that his sister is back in Starling.”  
  
“You don’t know anything about what either of them needs,” Laurel told him. “Please for both our sakes don’t tell Tommy. I know when she’s ready she will talk to him. But they need to get there on their own, not with interference.”  
  
Oliver didn’t say anything, he just turned to the door and left.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

_“Hey Oliver I was wondering if you wanted to catch a late dinner. There are some things that I need to talk about. Meet me at the Italian place near Merlyn Global? Please?”_  
  
Oliver Queen had no plan to see anyone that night. His plan was to go after someone on the list. But after hearing the message from Tommy, he knew that his friend needed him more than he needed to go out as the Hood Guy. By the time he arrived to the restaurant Tommy mentioned in his voicemail, he saw that his friend was already seated. Making his way over there, Oliver smiled before sitting down.  
  
“I remember when we took Evelyn here for a surprise birthday celebration. You had told her that I needed her help and it was a surprise party waiting for her,” Oliver said. “I miss her.”  
  
“Me too,” Tommy said as he picked up his glass of wine and took a long drink. “Do you think it is possible for someone to forgive someone else for cutting off all communication with someone else? For not being there like they should have been for the past eight years?”  
  
“You mean Evelyn?” Oliver asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
“I said some things at that party we threw for her. We fought about it and the shitty part was that she doesn’t know what our father had planned for if she stayed in Starling. She needed to leave, but she left me behind.”  
  
“How could she ever leave you behind Tommy?” Oliver asked him. “You were always there for her. Protecting and guiding her. You might have been younger, but you two had a strong bond.”  
  
“I messed all that up. Even before I knew you slept with her. She didn’t deserve how I treated her on that night. That night it was almost like I was my own father.”  
  
“You aren’t Malcolm Merlyn. If Evelyn were here she would tell you the same thing.”  
  
“I love her and I made her hate me,” Tommy told him. “If she didn’t hate me for the things I said then she should hate me for calling her once in eight years. It was only to tell her that you were dead. I didn’t even tell her that you had been found. I think Laurel texted her.”  
  
“So they still talk?”  
  
Tommy nodded his head. “I need to see her.”  
  
“Laurel?” Oliver asked, slightly confused.  
  
“No,” Tommy said taking a large gulp of his water. “I need to see Evelyn.”  
  
“So do I," Oliver said. "If she and Laurel still talk, I need to apologize for lying to her that night."  
  
"Lying to her?" Tommy murmured distractedly, his gaze glued to his phone.  
  
"Yeah. Not my best moment, but I couldn't deny my feelings for her any longer and I told her that Laurel and I broke up," Oliver admitted sheepishly. “You had to know or thought there was something between me and Evelyn.”  
  
"Feelings? What feelings?" Tommy practically growled.  
  
“For the longest time before the party,” Oliver started and then looked at Tommy who finally looked up at him. “I have been in love with your sister since we kids.”  
  
Not responding to what his best friend had just confessed to him, Tommy stood up and grab his jacket before starting to leave.  
  
“Tommy! Tommy, wait! Where are you going?” Oliver called to his friend as he followed him.  
  
“The airport!” he called back to him. “I’ve got a flight to catch and eight years to apologize for.”  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Looking down at the piece of paper with the address of the last address he knew his sister had lived, Tommy got out of the cab. He looked up at the slightly rundown building in surprise. Never had he expected a Merlyn to live some place so...shabby. If what he remembered what Laurel had once told him after she had gone to see him was that the apartment wasn’t exactly up to Merlyn standards, but the inside was nice and Evelyn had seemed content in the apartment. Glancing down at the paper once more, he shoved it into his pocket before making his way up the stairs and to the door that his sister was living behind.  
  
 _Knock. Knock. Knock._  
  
Waiting for the door to open was antagonizing. All he wanted was to see his twin sister’s face on the other side of the door. Instead he was still standing in front of the door and he couldn’t hear any kind of noise on the other side of the door. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and knocked on the door once again. Again, waiting for some kind of answer, but nothing came.  
  
“No one lives there anymore.”  
  
Turning he faced the person that spoke. It was a young woman with a key in the lock of the apartment next to the one he was knocking on. Running a hand through his hair, he couldn’t believe the words that came out of the woman’s mouth. Evelyn wasn’t there?  
  
“What do you mean? How long has it been empty?”  
  
“I mean that she graduated and not long after she was gone,” the neighbor told him. “It was a few weeks ago. No more than a month at most.”  
  
“Was there a forwarding address?” Tommy questioned the woman.   
  
“No,” she told him. “She was only here for a few years. Real nice, but she was quiet. Kept to herself mostly. Never saw anyone besides her coming and going from the apartment. It was nice not having to worry that the neighbor would keep my kids up at night with loud music.”  
  
Nodding his head, Tommy let out a heavy sigh before thanking her and heading back to the stairs. He heard the woman call out a sorry, but he didn’t say anything else. As soon as he heard the door of the apartment close, he sat down on the stairs and pulled out his phone. Scrolling through the contacts, he brought up Evelyn’s contact information. Looking down at the picture on the screen, he wasn’t sure if she would even answer his phone call. Running his free hand through his hair, he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. If he didn’t call her there would be no way to find out where she was. If he didn’t find out where she was then this whole trip was nothing but a waste of time. Finally he hit the button and called her.  
  
 _Ring._  
  
 _Ring._  
  
 _Ring._  
  
After the third ring, Tommy was starting to get nervous that she wasn’t going to pick up the phone. But then he wasn’t listening anymore so when he heard her voice he was utterly surprised.  
  
 _“Hello?…Tommy?”_  
  
“Yeah, Evie, I’m here.”  
  
 _“I’m surprised to hear from you.”_  
  
“I know,” Tommy admitted knowing that it was his fault they had grown apart. “I’m an ass. I ruined our relationship with petty jealousies and I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am about that.”  
  
 _“Tommy…”_  
  
“Funny story,” he said interrupting her. “I left Starling City and came to your apartment only to find out that you haven’t lived here in few weeks. I didn’t want to do this over the phone.”  
  
 _“I never thought you would want to speak to me again,” Evelyn said softly. “So I didn’t think about telling you about the job offer I received after I graduated.”_  
  
“I need to see you Evelyn,” Tommy said. “Please tell me where you are. We need to talk about this in person.”  
  
He could hear her take a few deep breaths and then there was a door that closed. _“I’m in Starling City.”_  
  
There was no helping it, Tommy let out a laugh. He had been closer to his sister and hadn’t even known it. Shaking his head, it was hard to believe that he would soon be able to see her and hug her and talk to her just like they used to before everything got completely messed up.  
  
“How did I not know that you came back home? Does he know that you’re back?”  
  
 _“He sent me a letter,” Evelyn told him honestly. “But I haven’t responded nor do I plan to. I’m not going to go and do what Malcolm Merlyn wants. That wasn’t the point of leaving for all these years.”_  
  
“Once I get back home,” Tommy started and then stopped and took a deep breath. “Can we meet? Please?”  
  
 _“I think I’d really like that Tommy.”_  
  
“Oliver is starting a new club at a factory that used to be owned by his father. It is starting to come along, but not ready for the opening anytime soon. Would you consider having dinner with me there? Just the two of us?”  
  
 _“Yeah, if Oliver doesn’t mind,” Evelyn agreed. “I think it is past time to really talk.”_  
  
“I’ll call you soon. I promise,” Tommy told her with a smile on his face. “I love you Evie.”  
  
 _“I love you too, Tommy.”_  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sitting at the airport gave Tommy Merlyn time to think about the last day. If it hadn’t been for Oliver he wouldn’t have gone looking for his sister. No, he would have drunk his way into forgetting what happened. But when his best friend admitted to those things about his twin sister it made him realize that enough time had passed between them without talking. And more than anything he was glad that he had the opportunity to fix what he broke between them.  
  
What he didn’t understand was if his sister was in Starling City, why didn’t Laurel tell him? He could understand why Evelyn didn’t want people to know that she was back in case it got back to Malcolm Merlyn, but he wasn’t their father. Laurel should have told him even if she asked him not to look for her. It just didn’t make sense to him. He knew that the two of them still talked to one another, so she had to have known his sister was back.  
  
Taking his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time. He still had over an hour before his flight back home. Home. Where his sister was. Shaking his head, he went into his recent calls and found Laurel’s contact information. There was no hesitation this time when he made the call. Placing the phone to his ear he listened to it ring until she finally picked up.  
  
 _“Hey Tommy.”_  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tommy asked, forgetting the pleasantries all together.  
  
 _“What are you talking about?”_  
  
“What am I talking about?” Tommy retorted as he shook his head. “I’m talking about the fact that my sister graduated and left the last place I thought she was. I came to talk to her face to face, to fix what I messed up.”  
  
 _“Tommy…”_  
  
“Only she wasn’t there. No one is living there anymore. I guess I made some noise when I kept knocking on the door in hopes that my sister would open the door. Instead the next door neighbor tells me that she moved out a few weeks ago, but no more than a month ago.”  
  
 _“Tommy, just-”_  
  
“Just tell me this. Did you know  that she was back in Starling City?”  
  
 _“Yes, I knew she was here,” Laurel said honestly. “She’s been staying with me before finding a place of her own.”_  
  
“And you didn’t even think to tell me that she was back home?”  
  
 _“How could I Tommy?” Laurel asked. “Anytime I brought Evelyn up you seemed to block out anything I was saying. I made amends with her years ago. So yes I offered her a place until she gets on her own feet without having to go back to Malcolm Merlyn. I won’t ever apologize for that.”_  
  
“You should have told me,” Tommy said shaking his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “I flew all this way to see her and tell her everything and I didn’t even have to leave Starling to talk to her.”  
  
 _“She’s not going anywhere Tommy. Come home and talk to her. I think the both of you have things that need to be said.”_  
  
“I am just waiting on my flight home. Didn’t take the company plane. Should have but it would have raised too many eyes from my father and I know how hard she’s worked to keep a distance from him.”  
  
 _“She wants nothing from him, but I know she misses you. I think it is good that you are reaching out to her.”_  
  
“It is eight years overdue, Laurel. I just hope I haven’t waited too long.”  
  
 _“How did you know she was in Starling City?”_  
  
Tommy let out a small laugh. “I called her. I had wanted to talk to her face to face, but she left no forwarding address so there was no way to find her. I took the chance and I guess it just worked out from there.”  
  
 _“I’m glad to hear it.”_  
  
“I’ll call you when I get back. I’m gonna find some food and wait for my flight home.”  
  
 _“See you soon Tommy.”_  
  
“Bye.”  
  
Hanging up the call, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. That had not gone the way he thought it would have gone, but at least he had his answers. And now he knew that his twin had been staying somewhere safe and that made him happy. He didn’t want her living in the Glades. Even when they were teens and she was volunteering at their mother’s clinic out there, it made him nervous that something would happen to her just like it had to their mother. Evelyn was in Starling City, did that mean she was working at one of the hospitals? Or was she going to go back to the clinic and pick up where their mother left off? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


End file.
